Eye tracking technology and heat maps can uncover surprising insights that benefit every business. These tactics take the guesswork out of conversion rate optimization by showing marketers exactly what matters most to consumers.
Here are four important eye tracking studies that provide a peek into the human behavior all marketers need to know.
Avoid “Dead Weight” Visuals
Fitts’s law states that object “weight” (in the visual hierarchy) determines which elements on a webpage attract eyes and mouse clicks. Eye tracking can reveal exactly which elements “pop” on a landing page, making sure you don’t give too much weight to visuals that fail to entice customers to take action.
Video’s Impact on Search
You have probably seen heat maps depicting SERPs (search engine results pages) showing that the top three rankings typically command all of users’ attention. However, a heat map study published on Moz showed that videos are powerful eye magnets, even when they aren’t the #1 result. The lesson learned for marketers is to embed video rather than authorship for product pages to stand out at the top of competitive search results.
The Power of Directional Cues
According to one eye gaze study, using visual cues to guide website visitors to key areas of your site is incredibly effective. People are naturally inclined to follow the gaze of others; we’ve been coached since birth to follow arrows toward where we should be looking and going. Marketers can optimize websites by including images that serve as visual cues for where customers should look next.
The F-Pattern is Universal
A Nielsen Group study found that across e-commerce sites, search engine results, and even articles, people almost always browse content in an F-shaped pattern. In other words, their viewing heavily favors the left side of the screen and moves from left to right. Eye tracking reveals that readers browse sites based on their reading habits.
Learn more about the robust research systems offered by Eyegaze that help you discover the information your business needs to know.